


Temporary Solution

by Liz_87



Category: Casualty (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:21:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24539155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liz_87/pseuds/Liz_87
Summary: AU. Charlie and Duffy reconnect physically but not emotionally after their split. Series 33.
Relationships: Lisa "Duffy" Duffin/Charlie Fairhead
Kudos: 4





	Temporary Solution

"It's just an ordinary shift, just like any other. Just keep your head down and carry on like normal." Well, that's what Duffy kept telling herself anyway. Not that she believed a single word of it. Not any longer anyway. It was the first time they'd been forced to work the same shift together since that fateful day. They'd managed to avoid each other up til now but it had to happen eventually. Standing at the nurses station she tried to focus on the form in front of her, keeping her head low as she tried to ignore the stares of her colleagues as Charlie's voice rang out from elsewhere in the department. Goodness knows what the poor junior nurse he was shouting at had done to incur his wrath, probably nothing, but he was shouting at her nonetheless.

Hearing the shouting, Marty lent over and nudged Jade. "I think someone got out the wrong side of bed this morning."

Jade smirked. "From what I hear it ain't his sleeping arrangements that are the problem."

David glanced up from the computer and as he looked over at the gossiping pair he noticed Duffy stood writing with her head down. Unsure if the others had realised she was there he felt compelled to speak. "I'm not sure this is the time or place for such conversations." He said, tilting his head subtly in Duffy's direction.

Marty at least had the decency to look slightly ashamed as Duffy looked up at them. Jade, meanwhile, just stared at her smirking. "Oh, carry on, don't mind me." She replied, attempting to sound nonchalant but David detected the slight shake in her voice.

David attempted a small reassuring smile in her direction but she just sighed and walked away.

-x-

By the time early afternoon arrived Charlie had lost his temper on four seperate occasions. Seeing him enter his office and slam the door behind him, Duffy seized her opportunity. Taking a deep breath she walked over to it, letting herself in without knocking.

Hearing the door close, he looked up. "What do you want?" He spat at her angrily.

She sighed. "I thought I'd give you an opportunity to shout at the actual reason you've been getting angry all morning."

He rolled his eyes at her. "I don't know what you're talking about. The staff I dealt with had all deserved it." He replied, placing his hands on his desk firmly as he rose to stand.

The movement caused Duffy to notice the bruising and cuts on the knuckles of Charlie's right hand. "And I suppose whichever wall in our house that you punched last night deserved it too eh?"

"What I chose to do in my house is my business Duffy, not yours!" He replied bitterly.

He quickly realised he'd stung her with his remark. He took a moment to observe her. She looked pale, even by her usual standards. He wasn't much of an expert on these things but he was pretty sure she wasn't wearing much, if any, make up. That would certainly explain the dark shadows under her eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a slightly messy twisted bun rather than the usual neat braid that he'd spent many hours watching her expertly weive her hair into whilst sat in front of the mirror in their bedroom. The final thing he noticed was her uniform. It had never been snug on her, far from it, her figure had always been beautifully slender, but now the clothes seemed to hang on her. He began to wonder when she'd last eaten a decent meal. He was broken from his thoughts by the sound of her voice.

"Have you quite finished staring at me?"

With a sigh he looked back down at the items on his desk.

"Just because things have gone wrong between us doesn't mean you have to take it out on everyone else. You're making things unbearable..."

"Gone wrong?! You slept with someone else Duffy! I know we were going through a rough patch but..."

"It was a mistake! A stupid, stupid mistake that I'll regret for the rest of my life! You have to believe me."

"A mistake?! He told me you two were old friends who met up again and 'one thing led to another...' You disgust me! Thirty years. That's how long I've loved you and you threw it all away in one night!" His rage boiled over and he grabbed the closest thing to him on the desk, a pot full of pens, and launched it across the room.

Duffy let out a startled yelp as the projectile narrowly missed her as it sailed through the air and crashed against the wall.

Charlie looked over at her and saw immediately that he had frightened her with his outburst. His anger evaporated as he saw her face begin to crumble as she burst into tears. "I'm sorry. I..." Any further words were cut off as she quickly turned, pulled open the door and ran off. As the door slammed shut behind her he slumped back down into his chair and placed his head in his hands on the desk.

-x-

A few minutes later Charlie had calmed down somewhat and knew that, despite everything that was going on between them, he had to go find her and make sure she was ok. He quickly checked the staff room but she wasn't there. A thought occurred to him. Leaving the room he walked down the corridor til he reached the door of the ladies toilets. He briefly debated with himself before reaching out to knock on the door. Receiving no reply, he turned the handle and entered the room. She had her back to him but he could hear the sounds of her tears. "Duffy?"

She spun around, her eyes were red and her cheeks blotchy. "You're not allowed in here Charlie!"

He stuck his hands into his pockets and lowered his gaze. She was right. "I, erm, came to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thrown things at you, it was stupid."

"I understand that you're angry at me Charlie, you have every right to be. I'm angry at myself." 

More tears flowed down her cheeks. Taking his hands from his pockets he went to take her in his arms but something stopped him. He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck, suddenly unsure of himself. With a sigh he made up his mind. Stepping forward he closed the gap between them and placed his arms around her shoulders. She lent her face against his chest and he felt her arms go around his waist as her tears overwhelmed her. He rubbed her back to soothe her. Eventually her sobs lessened in intensity as she calmed. She didn't want to step away from his embrace but knew she had to, this was the punishment she deserved for her actions. She had destroyed everything between them. She looked up into his eyes briefly as she stepped back. 

"I'm ok now. You should..."

Her words were cut off as she felt him brush his fingers across her cheek. "I've missed you." He whispered.

"I've missed you too." She replied, slightly shocked at his words.

Dipping his head slightly he placed a gentle kiss against her lips. Though it had only been a few short weeks since they'd separated she'd missed the feel of his kisses. He pulled back away from her, they both seemed surprised by his actions. She wanted to ask him why. Did this mean he was willing to listen, willing to fight for them? She opened her mouth to speak but his nearness was intoxicating, she couldn't form the words. Her mind, so tired from fighting all her demons, simply allowed her body to take control. She closed the space between them and captured his lips with her own once more. She felt his arms go back around her as the kiss deepened. She felt one of his hands come to rest on her bottom, giving it an encouraging squeeze. His other hand worked its way around the back of her head and with a gentle tug he freed her hair from its constraints.

Breaking the kiss, Charlie's lips quickly sought the spot on Duffy's neck that he knew drove her wild. He smiled with satisfaction as he heard the moan his actions elicited from her. Spurred on he nipped at her skin firmly with his teeth, not caring that he would leave a mark. In fact the thought only increased his arousal. She was his once more.

Travelling further down, he began to unzip her tunic. Once opened, his hands went straight to her breasts, cupping them and admiring how they always fit so perfectly, she was just the right size. He felt her push her hardened nipples against his palms. Moving his hands up to her shoulders he nudged her backwards towards the cubicle. Once inside, he reached behind to lock the door.

Duffy raised an eyebrow at him as she saw the smirk on his face as he turned back around to face her. Stepping towards her he pushed her up against the wall and began to kiss her again. As she felt his hands reach the waistband of her trousers she moved her face to one side. "Charlie?" He began to nibble her collarbone again and ran his fingers along the edge of her trousers. "Here? Now?" She queried, surprise evident in her voice. He gave no verbal response but his hand sliding down inside her knickers gave her the answer to her question.

All thoughts of objecting further soon disappeared from her thoughts as his fingers entered her and began to thrust forcefully. As he did so he bit her neck again. A lustful moan escaped her lips. Well two could play that game! Shifting slightly, she placed her hand inside his trousers, discovering quickly how aroused he was. Reaching lower she cupped his balls with her hands, squeezing them gently. His head instantly reared backwards as he let out a hiss. Suddenly his urgency made sense. She briefly considered torturing him further by running her hand up and down the length of him but she quickly dismissed that idea. She much preferred the idea of him coming inside her rather than all over his boxers.

He swiftly pulled down her trousers and then paused, taking a moment to rake his lustful eyes over her figure. "You. Me. Here. Now." He grunted as he pushed himself up against her once more. She pushed down his trousers and boxers as he practically tore down her knickers. She attempted to wrap her leg around his waist to allow him better access but found the task impossible with her trousers round her ankles. Cursing under her breath she tried to kick her trainers off. It took a couple of attempts but finally she succeeded.

Placing his hands under her bottom Charlie lifted her slightly and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he entered her firmly. He took a few moments to savour the feeling of her familiar warmth wrapped around him before he felt her squeeze him with impatient desire.

Placing one of his hands against the wall to brace himself he thrust into her deeply causing her to wince slightly and gasp. This only encouraged him more. She grasped his shoulders as she desperately attempted to cling on. His eyes were closed and he grunted into her ear as he fucked her hard and fast against the wall. She tried to kiss him but he turned his face away from her. She sighed and lent her head back against the wall. So this was how it was to be from now on was it? The occasional fuck when they were both horny and desperate? A single tear ran down her cheek.

All of a sudden Charlie paused. He turned to look at her, their eyes briefly locking. Something seemed to shift within him and he pressed a gentle kiss against her damp cheek. He began to thrust into her again but his pace was slower now and his gaze never left her face.

Though they wanted to savour the feeling of reconnecting their actions were still driven by the urgency of knowing that someone could walk in at any moment and catch them together.

It didn't take long for their passions to overwhelm them and they attempted to muffle their cries of pleasure as they reached their peaks. Exhausted they collapsed against the wall of the cubicle while they steadied their breathing. After a few moments Charlie pushed away from Duffy and they both began to redress, an awkward silence descending between them.

As she zipped up her tunic, Duffy looked at Charlie and said, "We really need to talk. Please!"

He was about to respond when they heard the main door open and voices chatting animatedly as two colleagues entered the toilets. Duffy's eyes widened with fear, panic clutching at her chest. Charlie attempted to move so only her feet would be visable but the lack of space in the cubicle made this impossible so he gave up and just hoped they didn't notice.

Several tense minutes passed but finally they were once again alone. Duffy glanced over at Charlie shyly. "Can we have dinner together after our shift so we can talk?"

Charlie felt so conflicted. He loved her so much, more than anything else in the world but still the fingers of betrayal, suspicion and doubt refused to loosen their grip on him. He lowered his gaze to the floor. "I can't... I'm sorry." He looked back up at her face. There were tears in his eyes. "I love you but it hurts too much." He whispered. He kissed her gently on the lips one last time before turning away and leaving the room.

Duffy walked over to the sinks, leaning her hands on them and staring into the mirror. Staring back at her was the face of a woman she barely recognised anymore. She looked tired, old and so very, very alone. She began to cry once more. She really thought that there had been some progress made between her and Charlie. Some hope that they would make it through and be OK. They'd reconnected physically but until they both opened up emotionally and dealt with all the secrets and lies they both held within then it would be nothing but a temporary solution to their problems.


End file.
